street_077_mac.jpg Norman Reid, owner of "Lost and Found", antiques and collectables, says he voted for Schwarzenegger in the last election but wouldn't vote for him again. Talk to people of Southern California to get their opinions on the job that Gov. Schwarzenegger is doing. 10/20/05 Fillmore, {state.} Michael Macor / San Francisco Chronicle Mandatory Credit for Photographer and San Francisco Chronicle/ - Magazine Out

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Barbra Besse, in the mall with her two children, says she supports the Governor and likes his independent stance.
A "man on the street" story about what East Bay voters think about Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the upcoming special election. All people photographed were in downtown Walnut Creek.
10/24/05

Photo: Brant Ward

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Barbra Besse, in the mall with her...

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street_049_mac.jpg Angel Carrillo, left and Frank Cervantes were born and raised in the small town of Fillmore, Ca. The two sit in front of City Hall and the train Museum. Talk to people of Southern California to get their opinions on the job that Gov. Schwarzenegger is doing. 10/20/05 Fillmore, {state.} Michael Macor / San Francisco Chronicle Mandatory Credit for Photographer and San Francisco Chronicle/ - Magazine Out

Photo: Michael Macor

street_049_mac.jpg Angel Carrillo, left and Frank Cervantes were...

Election flummoxes many across state / Californians give mixed reviews to governor, measures

2005-10-31 04:00:00 PDT Fillmore, Ventura County -- On a sun-washed park bench in their small town plaza, Frank Cervantez, 56, a retired landscaper, and his buddy, Angel Carrillo, 53, are savoring their special corner of rural California on a spectacular fall day.

But as they tick off concerns about the future here -- growth, traffic and jobs -- Cervantez throws up his hands.

"Why," he asked, "are we having a special election again?"

The friends, both veterans born and raised in this city of 15,000 tucked between rural Highways 126 and 23, said there are plenty of reforms needed in Fillmore, where the carpets of lush citrus groves are disappearing under bulldozers, expensive tract homes are rising overnight and freeways are becoming more clogged.

"The kids who live here won't be able to afford a home here," Carillo said, motioning up the Main Street. "And once these towns are gone, they're gone forever."

In little more than a week -- for one of just a dozen times in state history -- Californians in towns big and small will be asked to go to the polls in a special election. And for many voters, the issues they'll decide may not feel immediate or close to home.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who called the special election, has touted an agenda that he promises will "reform and rebuild California," and the four initiatives he supports include tougher teacher tenure requirements (Proposition 74), restrictions on public employee union dues (Proposition 75), budget changes (Proposition 76) and legislative redistricting (Proposition 77).

In random interviews with voters up and down the state, Californians had mixed reviews about the election -- and the governor. And even regular voters and loyal partisans expressed considerable confusion about the ballot measures.

The findings reflected results of a Public Policy Institute of California poll released last week confirming that, despite millions of dollars in advertising and statewide stumping, Schwarzenegger still has an uphill battle in convincing voters of the need for his four measures -- and that his own job performance is up to par.

Cervantez, a Vietnam veteran, said he is disappointed in the Republican governor who promised to "be the people's governor."

With the special election, "he's turned out to be the same old thing. ... We can't trust him, just like we can't trust the rest of the politicians, whether it's the White House or the people in Sacramento."

Cervantez complained the governor's initiatives are too complex and arcane -- and don't appear to affect what really needs to be done in California.

"You need an attorney to understand these things," he said, shaking his head. "They want us to vote. But we're doing all right without these propositions."

And, reflecting the sentiments of an election that officials say may attract barely 30 percent of voters, Cervantez admitted he's unlikely to go to the polls on Nov. 8. "I just don't know enough," he said.

Norman Reid, the owner of the Lost & Found Depot, an antiques and collectibles shop in Fillmore, agreed. Reid, a business owner for 10 years, supported the recall in 2003 and voted for Schwarzenegger. But he is feeling less impressed with the governor and less connected to Sacramento politics these days, and he thinks the interests of everyday Californians are being forgotten.

"I don't understand the special election, especially if the money is not there for our kids," he said. "I can't vote for it. ... I'm better off not voting. And I probably won't vote to re-elect him unless there's someone running against him that pisses me off."

More important and relevant to his life, he said, are issues such as gas prices, the economy, immigration and growth.

Down the block, sitting in front of Auntie's Emporium, Republican Michael Askay, 55, a retired bar and restaurant owner, said the governor -- and his special election -- have been misunderstood.

"I don't care for Arnold Schwarzenegger as a human being," he said. But he insisted he will vote in the election and support all the governor's initiatives.

"The principles that he's set forth I agree with; it's about picking up California and controlling spending," he said. "And the one thing he wants to do is bring companies back to California that can employ people."

He especially agreed with the governor that "no union in California should ever hold the public hostage. Not nurses, teachers or firefighters ... and the unions have too big a punch in this state."

In nearby suburban Simi Valley, the conversations -- even between friends of differing political background -- also center on issues such as unions and leadership.

Democrat June Aiello, 37, and her friend Marilyn Bencar, 65, a Republican, disagreed on the governor and especially on Prop. 75.

Aiello said it's an effort to silence unions, while Bencar said it's an effort to control their power.

The governor is "giving me voter fatigue," said Aiello, a nonprofit executive from suburban Agoura Hills. A mother of a 14-year-old son, she considers herself an informed voter, but "I'm starting to get confused about what is an actual issue, and what is (Schwarzenegger's) agenda."

She said he has gone from being a leader "with star appeal" who wanted to work with both sides into one who has "delivered dissention," making "ridiculous" comments about nurses and teachers.

Bencar of Sherman Oaks, a vice president of a real estate investment firm, said she was supportive of the governor and voted for him in the 2003 recall. But she has "mixed feelings about the special election."

"You hear about all the money it costs, and I'm not sure if it had to be done now," she said. And Schwarzenegger "still hasn't done anything" that is dramatic to fix the problems in California.

But both women agreed with him on Prop. 74, the teacher tenure initiative -- and planned to vote in favor of it.

"California is at the bottom in education," Aiello said. "I believe that if I'm a competent teacher, I can find employment."

About 400 miles north, in the bustling downtown of Walnut Creek, where shoppers were crowding the local Starbucks and parading out of Nordstrom with bags of purchases, Barbara Besse, 37, a young mother with two toddlers in tow -- and a coffee-to-go -- said she still has homework to do to understand all the details of the ballot measures.

But she is "definitely" going to vote next week. A Republican, she said she is very satisfied with the work of the Republican governor.

"He's doing a very good job," Besse said. "He's been true to his word. He seems less interested in the political aspects (of his position) than in doing the right thing." And she said his initiatives mirror his good intentions.

But Marney Ackerman, a Walnut Creek Democrat, housewife and part-time tai chi instructor, is equally motivated to vote, "against every one of (the governor's) measures."

"I don't like what he's doing," she said of Schwarzenegger. "I have a sense of him not being truly sincere."

Ackerman didn't support the recall, and of the special election, she added with disgust, "I just don't like the idea, because I think a great deal of money is being spent unnecessarily.

"I've studied the ballot, and it's confusing," she said. "I will do the best that I can, but I know I'm against all of them."

But polls show many Californians have thrown up their hands on the measures.

Crystal Harzimichael, 21, a massage therapist from Antioch, says she's one of those who won't vote -- and won't feel guilty about it.

She said she sees Schwarzenegger as "mostly a movie star," because he hasn't done anything in office she thinks has dramatically affected California. Except, she admits, pass a workers' compensation reform that hurt her business and "demolished" many of her client connections, by putting a stricter cap on treatments allowed for injured workers.

Despite her strong sentiments on that move by the governor, Harzimichael said she still is not moved to vote Nov. 8.

"I never vote, for a lot of reasons," she said, matter-of-factly. "I never get myself there. I don't feel I know enough, and I don't have the time to learn it and read about it."